System and method for turbomachine monitoring

ABSTRACT

A system for monitoring a turbomachine is provided. The system includes a turbomachine component having a variable geometry, a first sensor disposed to sense a condition of the turbomachine component, a second sensor disposed to sense an operational condition of the turbomachine, the operational condition being associated with an operation of the turbomachine component and a controller operably coupled to the first and second sensors, the controller being configured to execute a turbomachine process in accordance with a result of sensing by the second sensor with respect to the operational condition regardless of whether the first sensor detects the condition.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbomachines and, more particularly, to systems and methods for turbomachine monitoring.

Turbomachines generally include a compressor that compresses inlet air, a combustor in which the compressed inlet air is mixed with fuel and combusted and a turbine in which products of the combustion are expanded in power generation operations. Each turbomachine part may further include components that have variable geometries whereby the shape, size and/or orientation of the components are changeable in accordance with turbomachine operations. For example, the compressor may include a variable stator vane (VSV) system that controls an amount air that is permitted to flow through the compressor. In the VSV system, compressor vane angles are set by an actuator that is commanded by control logic.

There are many methods to detect a failure in the actuator. For example, the control logic may be configured to detect a difference between an actuator position demand, which sets a compressor vane angle, and the actuator position feedback, which indicates the actual compressor vane angle. This type of fault logic does not address failures in the VSV hardware, such as a mechanical disconnect between the VSV actuator and the VSV lever arms. Thus, it is possible that a detected difference between the actuator position demand and the actuator position feedback may not be reflective of the actual compressor vane angle at the given time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, a system for monitoring a turbomachine is provided. The system includes a turbomachine component having a variable geometry, a first sensor disposed to sense a condition of the turbomachine component, a second sensor disposed to sense an operational condition of the turbomachine, the operational condition being associated with an operation of the turbomachine component and a controller operably coupled to the first and second sensors, the controller being configured to execute a turbomachine process in accordance with a result of sensing by the second sensor with respect to the operational condition regardless of whether the first sensor detects the condition.

According to another aspect of the invention, a turbomachine is provided and includes a compressor configured to compress inlet air, the compressor including inlet vanes having a variable geometry, which are disposed to permit airflow into the compressor in accordance with a current geometry of the inlet vanes, a first sensor disposed to sense a condition of the inlet vanes, a second sensor disposed to sense an operational condition of the turbomachine, the operational condition being associated with an operation of the inlet vanes and a controller operably coupled to the first and second sensors, the controller being configured to execute a turbomachine process in an event that the first sensor detects the condition and in accordance with a result of sensing by the second sensor with respect to the operational condition.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method for monitoring a turbomachine is provided and includes setting a turbomachine component having a variable geometry to assume a current geometry, disposing a first sensor to sense a condition of the turbomachine component with respect to an assumption of the current geometry, disposing a second sensor to sense an operational condition of the turbomachine, the operational condition being associated with an operation of the turbomachine component and executing a turbomachine process by a controller in an event that the first sensor detects the condition and in accordance with a result of sensing by the second sensor with respect to the operational condition.

These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification.

The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a graphical depiction of a compressor operating line generated by a Variable Stator Vane (VSV) system feedback failure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a turbomachine;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a turbomachine component having a variable geometry; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a controller operably coupled to the turbomachine of FIG. 2.

The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary gas turbine engine has a variable stator vane (VSV) system in a high pressure compressor (HPC). The angular position of the compressor vanes is driven by a hydraulic actuation system having a position feedback integrated with the hydraulic actuator. A controller contains logic that positions the VSV actuator position demand and also compares the position demand with the position feedback. If the difference between the position demand and feedback is greater than a threshold and greater than a time threshold, a fault will be generated and the controller will respond accordingly. The control logic does not, however, generally protect against any failure in the VSV positioning system that occurs beyond the actuation system feedback. So even though the actuator position matches the demanded position, the HPC might be at risk for a surge since the stator vane angles may still be unknown.

Such a VSV feedback failure can produce significant noise, as shown in FIG. 1, in which vane angle excursions are found to be outside a typical range for short time periods that are insufficient in terms of the persistence of the vane angle excursions to cause the controller to respond. In some cases, such situations may be identified by data from certain sensors throughout the corresponding turbomachine but if not corrected could lead to full vane angle closure and damages. Thus, control logic is provided and described below that detects or monitors certain variable geometry behavior and its effect on a corresponding turbomachine so that appropriate responses (i.e., adjustments or forced shutdowns) can be timely executed.

With reference to FIGS. 2-4, a system for monitoring a turbomachine 10 is provided. The turbomachine 10 includes a compressor 11, such as a high pressure compressor, which is configured to compress inlet air, a combustor 12 in which the compressed inlet air is combusted along with fuel and a turbine 13 in which products of the combustion are expanded in power generation operations. The turbine 13 is disposed on a rotatable shaft 14, which drives the compressor 11 and a generator 15. The generator 15 converts the mechanical energy of the turbine 13 into electrical power that is output from the turbomachine 10.

The compressor 11 includes a turbomachine component, such as a variable stator vane (VSV) system 110. The VSV system 110 includes compressor inlet vanes 111, which have a variable geometry and are disposed to occupy a predefined current geometry. That is, the compressor inlet vanes 111 may occupy variable vane angles and are able to be positioned at a predefined current vane angle at which the compressor inlet vanes 111 moderate an amount of air that is permitted to flow through the compressor 11. The VSV system 110 further includes an actuation system 112, which is configured to control the compressor inlet vanes 111 to assume the predefined vane angle, and a system controller 113 operably disposed to respond, adjust or otherwise take corrective action in an event the compressor inlet vanes 111 fail to assume the predefined vane angle by a predefined threshold for more than a predefined time period. The system controller 113 may include a VSV system sensor 1130, which is disposed to sense a condition, such as an abnormal condition, of the VSV system 110.

Although the turbomachine component is described above as being the VSV system 110, it is to be understood that the turbomachine component can be any component of the turbomachine 10 that has a variable geometry. The description of the VSV system 110 is exemplary and is relied upon herein for clarity and brevity.

The turbomachine 10 further includes a first sensor, which could be the VSV system sensor 1130 of the system controller 113 of the VSV system 110, and which is disposed to sense the condition (e.g., the above-noted abnormal condition) of the turbomachine component, one or more second sensors 20-24 and a controller 30. The one or more second sensors 20-24 may be disposed to sense an operational condition of the turbomachine, which may be associated with an operation of the turbomachine component (i.e., the VSV system 110). The controller 30 is operably coupled to the first sensor 1130 and to the one or more second sensors 20-24 and is configured to respond, adjust or, in certain cases, execute a turbomachine process in accordance with a result of sensing by any one or more of the second sensors 20-24. In an exemplary case, the controller 30 is configured to execute a corrective process of the turbomachine 10 in an event that any one or more of the second sensors 20-24 detects an anomaly associated with the operational condition regardless of whether the first sensor 1130 detects the above-noted abnormal condition. More specifically, the controller 30 is configured to execute a corrective process of the turbomachine 10 in an event that the first sensor 1130 detects the abnormal condition and any of the one or more second sensors 20-24 detects an anomaly associated with the operational condition.

As shown in FIG. 4, the controller 30 may be further coupled to the turbomachine 10 and to an alarm system 31. As such, in accordance with embodiments, the corrective process may include at least one or more of the controller 30 generally responding to the situation, adjusting an operation of the turbomachine 10, executing a process of shutting the turbomachine 10 down and causing the alarm system 31 to issue an alarm or a warning signal to an operator.

In accordance with embodiments, the above-noted abnormal condition sensed by the first sensor 1130 may be determined to be in effect when the compressor inlet vanes 111 are determined to have failed to assume the predefined vane angle by the predefined threshold for less than the predefined time. As noted above, this situation would have previously been regarded as mere noise and would not have normally been identified as problematic. In contrast, the abnormal condition is now seen as being potentially problematic at least for the purposes of the embodiments described herein.

The operational condition sensed by the second sensors 20-24 may be at least one or more of an exhaust gas temperature of the turbomachine 10 (sensed by second sensor [1] 20), a core speed of the turbomachine 10 (sensed by second sensor

21), a generator output of the turbomachine 10 (sensed by second sensor [3] 22), a high pressure compressor discharge pressure of the turbomachine 10 (sensed by second sensor [4] 23) and a pressure in an inlet of a high pressure compressor of the turbomachine 10 (sensed by second sensor [5] 24). In each case, the operational condition is related to and/or associated with the operation of the turbomachine component (e.g., the VSV system 110).

The anomaly associated with the operational condition may be identified as at least one or more of the sensed exhaust gas temperature of the turbomachine 10 being increased or decreased, the sensed core speed of the turbomachine 10 being increased or decreased, the sensed generator output of the turbomachine 10 being increased or decreased, the sensed high pressure compressor discharge pressure of the turbomachine 10 being increased or decreased and the sensed pressure in the inlet of the high pressure compressor of the turbomachine 10 being increased or decreased.

In an exemplary case, the turbomachine component is the VSV system 110 and the compressor inlet vanes 111 are operating normally but a mechanical fault, which is not sensed by any sensing device, is presently occurring. In this case, the first sensor 1130 may not register or identify that an abnormal condition is in effect. At the same time, the second sensor [1] 20 may sense a substantially increased exhaust gas temperature and the second sensor [2] 21 may sense a substantially increased core speed as a result of the mechanical fault. In either of these situations, the substantially increased exhaust gas temperature or the substantially increased core speed would be identifiable as an anomalous operational condition. Logic in the controller 20 could then cause the controller 30 to execute the corrective process of the turbomachine 10 regardless of whether the first sensor 1130 detects the abnormal condition or not.

In a further exemplary case, the turbomachine component is the VSV system 110 and the compressor inlet vanes 111 are closed by a substantially greater degree than the commanded vane angle for less than the predefined period of time as sensed by the first sensor 1130. This case is indicative of the abnormal condition being in effect. In addition, the second sensor [1] 20 may sense a substantially increased exhaust gas temperature and the second sensor [2] 21 may sense a substantially increased core speed. In either of these situations, the substantially increased exhaust gas temperature or the substantially increased core speed would be identifiable as an anomalous operational condition that when coupled with the indication of the abnormal condition being in effect may result in the logic in the controller 30 causing the controller 30 to execute the corrective process of the turbomachine 10. Stated generally, if any of the readings of the second sensor 20-24 are particularly high or low, such readings may be indicative of the anomalous operational condition and a corresponding malfunction in the turbomachine component that may previously have appeared to be mere noise.

While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A system for monitoring a turbomachine, comprising: a turbomachine component having a variable geometry; a first sensor disposed to sense a condition of the turbomachine component; a second sensor disposed to sense an operational condition of the turbomachine, the operational condition being associated with an operation of the turbomachine component; and a controller operably coupled to the first and second sensors, the controller being configured to execute a turbomachine process in accordance with a result of sensing by the second sensor with respect to the operational condition regardless of whether the first sensor detects the condition.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the turbomachine component comprises a variable stator vane (VSV) system.
 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the VSV system comprises: compressor inlet vanes disposed to occupy a predefined vane angle to thereby control an amount of air permitted to flow through a compressor of the turbomachine; an actuation system configured to control the compressor inlet vanes to assume the predefined vane angle; and a system controller operably disposed to respond to a failure of the compressor inlet vanes to assume the predefined vane angle by a predefined threshold for more than a predefined time period.
 4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the condition sensed by the first sensor is in effect when the compressor inlet vanes fail to assume the predefined vane angle by the predefined threshold for less than the predefined time period.
 5. The system according to claim 3, wherein the operational condition sensed by the second sensor is at least one or more of an exhaust gas temperature of the turbomachine, a core speed of the turbomachine, a generator output of the turbomachine, a high pressure compressor discharge pressure of the turbomachine and a pressure in an inlet of a high pressure compressor of the turbomachine.
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the turbomachine process comprises a shut-down process.
 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the turbomachine process comprises an alarm initiation.
 8. A turbomachine, comprising: a compressor configured to compress inlet air, the compressor including inlet vanes having a variable geometry, which are disposed to permit airflow through the compressor in accordance with a current geometry of the inlet vanes; a first sensor disposed to sense a condition of the inlet vanes; a second sensor disposed to sense an operational condition of the turbomachine, the operational condition being associated with an operation of the inlet vanes; and a controller operably coupled to the first and second sensors, the controller being configured to execute a turbomachine process in an event that the first sensor detects the condition and in accordance with a result of sensing by the second sensor with respect to the operational condition.
 9. The turbomachine according to claim 8, further comprising a variable stator vane (VSV) system.
 10. The turbomachine according to claim 9, wherein the VSV system comprises: the inlet vanes; an actuation system configured to control the inlet vanes to assume the current geometry; and a system controller operably disposed to respond to a failure of the compressor inlet vanes to assume the current geometry by a predefined threshold for more than a predefined time period.
 11. The turbomachine according to claim 10, wherein the condition sensed by the first sensor is in effect when the inlet vanes fail to assume the current geometry by the predefined threshold for less than the predefined time period.
 12. The turbomachine according to claim 11, wherein the operational condition sensed by the second sensor is at least one or more of an exhaust gas temperature of the turbomachine, a core speed of the turbomachine, a generator output of the turbomachine, a high pressure compressor discharge pressure of the turbomachine and a pressure in an inlet of a high pressure compressor of the turbomachine.
 13. The turbomachine according to claim 8, wherein the turbomachine process comprises a shut-down process.
 14. The turbomachine according to claim 8, wherein the turbomachine process comprises an alarm initiation.
 15. A method for monitoring a turbomachine, comprising: setting a turbomachine component having a variable geometry to assume a current geometry; disposing a first sensor to sense a condition of the turbomachine component with respect to an assumption of the current geometry; disposing a second sensor to sense an operational condition of the turbomachine, the operational condition being associated with an operation of the turbomachine component; and executing a turbomachine process by a controller in an event that the first sensor detects the condition and in accordance with a result of sensing by the second sensor with respect to the operational condition.
 16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising defining the condition sensed by the first sensor as being in effect when the turbomachine component fails to assume the current geometry by a predefined threshold for less than a predefined time.
 17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the executing of the turbomachine process comprises executing a shut-down process.
 18. The method according to claim 15, wherein the executing of the turbomachine process comprises initiating an alarm. 